Mr. Martin Bright:

The scheme has been running since July 2018. In those 32 months, some 1,200 members of PDFORRA have been referred for treatment. As I said, 256 of them had surgery and they have remained in service at a time when the Defence Forces has a recruitment and retention crisis. I am not going to make a political speech about that issue as that is a different hat for another day. The ability to retain this cross-border directive will keep people in a job and in their homes doing something they love. That is what we want. The issue needs to be addressed quickly so that we do not have this cloud hanging over us like we had previously. As Mr. Regan said, at the end of this year, everybody will be running up to Kingsbridge Private Hospital to try to get surgery in the event that the extension falls. The issue really needs to be addressed for people's peace of mind.